


We Stood

by SonamLama



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Endgame, Gen, Spoilers, no happy ending, this game wrecked me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-09-10 14:05:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8920051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonamLama/pseuds/SonamLama
Summary: Their final thoughts. Hopes, dreams, regrets and things that should have been said. How did this become their future? And how could it end like this?





	1. Prompto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this will get depressing. This is the first fan fiction I've written in years; since I was 13 actually. And I just had to do it even though its sloppy and probably not the greatest thing out there but I had to. The ending killed me.
> 
> Also there are a bunch of spoilers in this. I really would recommend you play this game to its entirety before reading. Not because you'll enjoy this fanfic more but because the game is amazing. And its worth experiencing every moment of it first hand.

Prompto had his life planned out. Marry Cindy. Continue having adventures with Noct. Become a professional photographer. Live an honest and meaningful life.

At least thats what he thought as he and his brothers watched as three fire giants materialized in front of them.

How did this become their future?

 

\-----

 

When Insomnia fell, he knew their future had changed. Their home was gone - well technically not _his_ home; Niflheim was his home though no one knew it. So his home away from home. It was destroyed and Noctis was King. It was too soon. This was not their plan - not his plan. 

 

\----- 

It was through Luna that they became friends. He found her dog and nursed it back to health. She seemed so genuine when she wrote to him; thanking him for helping her dog and hoping that he and Noctis continued to have a good friendship.

Wait what? He and _Prince_ Noctis? Friends?

 

They did become friends. It took a few years between when he got the letter and the actual friendship **but** they ended up becoming more then just friends. Noctis was a brother to him now. 

 

He always wanted to thank her for the letter. Wanted to thank her for making his lifer fuller and happier. He wanted to thank her for Noctis. For Gladiolus. And for Ignis.   

 

He never did get to meet Luna though.

 

\----- 

 

“Noctis will be back”, he would say constantly in his head. For 10 years he would repeat this mantra. His best friend would come back and then they would save the world. It was the last bit of hope he had - that he needed.

And then Noct was back. He was alive and ready to take control. But not like this. Save the world but never truly get to see it. It was not supposed to happen like this. This was not their fate.

 

\-----

 

They sat around that campfire for the final time. What do you say after 10 years? Welcome home? We missed you? Let's go kick ass?

_**I wish things were different. I wish we could go back to the past and fix our future.**_

 

And after all this time, Prompto finally accepted it. That this was it. That this was their end.

 

\-----

 

The daemons were bigger then he’s seen. Bigger then he could possibly handle but he had to try anyway.

“Walk tall”, Noctis had said. And he fired bullet after bullet. Kept shooting until nothing was left and then as a last resort threw his gun at the daemon. Nothing. Nothing but one thing.

 

He pulled out his camera, “One last pictures” he thought.

“Someone will find this camera and see how hard we fought to make this world right. They’ll go through these pictures and they’ll see the memories we created and know that we lived. And most importantly they’ll know of Noct. The young King; the King that did everything he could to save his kingdom.”  
  
It was a stupid idea. He knew that. But he got into position anyway; got as close as he could to the monster and picked out the perfect filter.

He looked up and the last thing he saw through that camera lens was the daemons sword coming down on him.


	2. Gladiolus.

It was his fathers job. Protect King Regis till the end. And that's what he did.

So it was rather fitting that he ended up in the same position. Like father like son. _Heh_.  

 

\-----

 

He hated Noctis at first. 

"No way will this brat become King", he said multiple times.

The kid, despite being King Regis's son, inherited none of his traits. He was terrible with a sword, had no proper manners and was always in a foul mood. And in light of all this, his sister was infatuated with the young Prince. Looking back at it now, it was probably that infatuation that caused him and Noctis to be as close as they are now.

Iris remained in love with the Prince for a long time. For years after a certain incident occurred. And even after his marriage was agreed upon with Princess Luna.

He knew it would never happen, right from the beginning but she was his baby sister. So on occasion he would have Noctis bring her flowers, just to make her smile. He'd tell her stories of their travels and tell her about all the heroic things the Prince had done.

Gladiolus always did wonder though. What it would be like to have Noctis as a brother-in-law?

 

\-----

 

When Insomnia fell, there was no time to panic. The King was dead. His father was dead.But they had to go. To figure out what to do next. Stick to the plan and reunite the Prince and Princess or somehow take back Insomnia on their own? 

His father was dead.

Was Iris safe? He needed to call her. He needed to see her, just to make sure she was ok.

His father was dead.

And what about Noctis. The Prince had been quite for a while. What do you say to a person who just lost his father and who became King in the span of a day? 

 

 _His father - was dead._ And in those moments Gladiolus made the choice. Made the choice to forget for just a second and take on his role as the Kings Shield.

There would be time for mourning later.

 

\-----

_You're a **coward**_

Ten long years and those words kept coming back to him. He remembered the days that followed that fight; the anger, the disappointment. Was it towards Noctis or really towards himself?

Ignis was damaged, the future queen was dead, and Noctis at that moment was dead silent. 

So maybe he was angry at both of them. At the Prince - the King for not acting the way a King was supposed to. For not acting the way King Regis would. And himself for letting it all happen. He was supposed to protect the Prince from pain, from suffering but thats exactly what Noctis was feeling and he didn't know how to stop it. 

They lost Prompto soon after.

Fear was the next emotion that came. After Noctis lost his power to summon a weapon. After they were separated. And after he heard Ardyn's voice faintly in the distance, mocking Noctis.

"We need to get to him!", was what he repeatedly yelled to Ignis. "We just - we just need to find him".

They did find him. Locked in a room, on the brink of being electrocuted. But he was there.

And then at last was there relief.  

 

\-----

 

Ten years later however and the anger returned. This time completely towards himself. He was the Kings Shield but where was the King now?

It was anger that separated him from Prompto and Ignis. They had always fought together. As a team. All for one and one for all. But that was gone now and only anger remained.

_For ten years._

So when Noctis returned, Gladiolus would never really admit his true feelings. That he missed the King, that he was sorry for what was said back then on the train and mostly that he was glad his brother was safe and _alive_. He would never tell them about what he felt for those years apart. There was no time to dwell on the past.

 

"About time you got back", was all that was said. And for them, it was enough.

 

\-----

 

If there was a day where he would not be by the Kings’s side, Gladiolus could not imagine it. But here he was, at the end of it all. 

He completed his duty though. Protect King Noctis till the end. He heard the noise within the Citadel. He knew that by now the King was dying - if not dead already.

He knew that his job was done. 

 

So Gladiolus charged headfirst at the daemon. Swung fast and hard; landing a strike right into its side. The sword sunk in but no reaction came from it.

 _Fuck_  

A giant hand came to swipe at him. Gladiolus was in mid swing when it struck him.

He hit the wall hard. His felt a bone in his right leg crack and blood was suddenly gushing down his forehead.

"Dad, I..."

Darkness set in as the daemon placed a foot on his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something I wanted to do in this chapter was show the transition Gladiolus made while referring to Noctis.  
> I feel like for the longest time he'd still look at Noct like the young Prince he was sworn to protect and only until much later - only until the point where he maybe goes into the crystal, that he starts to really refer to Noctis as "King".


End file.
